Air and water motor.



l. REESE.

AIR AND WATER MOTOR.

APPLICATION r1150 SEPT. 12, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES l/VVE/VTOR f/($@h 1 ,Z aa fieeay A TTOR/VEYS COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH $0.,WA51-11NG10N, D. c.

l. REESE.

AIR AND WATER MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12. 1914.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915. I

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v wmvsssffw l. REESE.

AIR AND WATER MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12. 1914.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTOR fiaacfiewe By ATTORNEYS WITNESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGWH C0" WASHINGTON, 'D- C.

ISAAC REESE, OF MEMPHIS, 'JIEI\.\Tl\TESSEE.

AIR AND WATER Moron.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Apiflication filed September 12, 1914. Serial at. 861,422.

To all whom it may concern H Be it known that I, ISAAC Rnnsn,a citizen of "the 'United States, and" a resident of Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented an Improvement in Air and Water Motors, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to powergenerating motors and more particularly to a combined air and water motor of such a nature as that the submerged andeX- posedportions respectively subject to water and air currents may eachbe operated to the exclusion of the other or one may be operated with the assistance ofthe other, and in which the partially or wholly inactive portion cannot be: acted" upon to the detriment of the partially or wholly active portion. These and other objects and theadvantages arising therefrom I accomplish by an arrangement which may be generally stated to include a partially submerged shaft having a series of power generating wheels loosely associated both upon its submerged and exposed portions, through ratchet and pawl connections,the particular construction of the wheels and their connections being such that they can only be driven in one direction, respective to the direction of the water and air currents, and the stated connections with the'shaft being such that the exposed wheels may be disengaged and thus avoid dragging through the air when the submerged wheels are driven at aspeed greater than the velocity of the air currents, and vice versa These objects and advantages briefly stated abovewill be better understood from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, and j in which-' Figure "-1 is a view, partially diagrammatic, illustrating an arrangement constituting my invention in sideelevation, certain of the parts of which are broken away and in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the power generating wheels with its feathering blades. Fig. 3 is'asection taken diametrically, through the wheel shown in Fig. 2 and substantially on line 3-3 of said figure. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2

Patented A110. 3, 1915'.

illustrating a slightly modified form of H power generating means, and Fig. 5 is a secconnected by cross rods for preventing the entrance of drift wood or other debris, may be erected in a variety of forms, its particular form being unessential so long as provision is made for the support of the bearings 16 andthe upper bearings 21 of a v counter shaft 20 connected by gears 18 and 19 to the upper end of the shaft 9 before mentioned-and on which is mounted a pulley 22 from which the power generated by the means to be hereinafter described may be effectively transferred to'the point of storage or utilization. Upon the shaft 9, or upon the several portions thereof, if it is to be in sections, are loosely disposed a plurality of power generating wheels B and B, 7

the former havin'g'blad'es upon one side only and the latter'ha'vingblades upon both sides. As shown, the generating wheels B and B are distributed equally upon the exposed and submerged portions of the shaft 9 re- I spectivelyj subject to the action of air and watercurrents, but this is not essential and cannot of course be maintained as the power gene'ratoras a whole is ordinarily erected in tidal waters and runnin'gstreams. In any case; the several power generating wheels B and B are connectedto the shaft 9, or the sections thereof, by means of pawl and ratchet connections, the ratchets being connected at 14: and the pawls at 15 in Fig. 1.

The several power generating wheels B and B can by their particular construction, be driven in one direction only, that is clockwise, in'Fig. 1 and, considering the particular" connections with the shaft 9 as above stated, it will thus be seen that the exposed portion of the motor, subject to the action of air currents is an assistance up to the full velocity of the water currents acting upon the submerged portion, and vice versa, and that whenever. the Velocity of the wind drives the wheel at a greater speed than that actuated by the flow of-the water currents, the pawls of the submerged wheels w ll slide over their ratehets 14 andthus permit the greater speed of the shaft 9 without the disadvantage of dragging the blades of the submerged wheels through the water. This is equally true, of course, of the exposed portion of the motor as a whole when the speed imparted to the shaft 9 by the action of the water currents against the submerged wheels exceeds that imparted by the air currents to the exposed wheels.

Each of the wheelsB and B indicated in somewhat diagrammatic form in Fig. 1v is, in its details, like the wheels shown in Figs. 2 and 3, consisting of anouter rim 1, spokes 2, a series ofbearings 3 around the run adjacent the outer ends of the spokes,a hubs, and a plurality of shafts 5 which extend dlametrically through the hub 4 and have their outer ends ournaled in the bearings 3 at diametrically opposite points of the rim 1, each of the said shafts thus having portions upon opposite sides of the axis of the wheel.

The several feathering blades 7 have stiffening straps 6 by which they are'rigidly attached to portions of the several shafts 5, each shaft having itsblade 7 upon one side of the axis of the wheel secured thereto parallel to the median plane of the wheel and its other blade 7 upon the oppositeside of the axis of the wheel secured thereto in a plane at right angles to the median plane of the .wheel. Thus each ofthepower generating wheels is provided with a series of right angle "balancing blades adapted to receive the air or water currents by the blades in operative positions at one side of the wheel while the blades at theopposite side of the wheel are in feathered position, thus eliminating all friction and resistance while in rotation. The same result may be obtained by the arrangement shown in Figs. 4: and 5 in which the shafts 5 of the wheel are in 1 portion P'and the rim 1, the former of which is connected to the shaft 9".

My invention as thus described is especially adapted for use in the streams of regions where there is occasional rise and fall of Water,which aflords different amounts of energy to the wheels, as'the'motor as a unit may be used with equal eflectiveness when exposed or submerged more or less in the air or water. I A p v Thus from the foregoing it will be understood that as the submerged and exposed,

and previously described and will in addition operate as eifectively either entirely exposed to' air currents or entirely submerged within water currents, with the shaft of the several generating wheels either in vertical or horizontal positions. r

y 1. In a device of the character described, a power generating wheel having spaced apart sides forming an annular chamber therebetween, pulleys mounted on said sides and arranged within the said annular chamber, each of said sides of the wheelhaving a hub portion and a rim portion, a plurality of shafts journaled at each side between its hub and rim and defining therewith substantially rectangular spaces, a plurality of substantially triangular severing blades adapted to fit within said spaces'and carried by said shafts, said blades being arranged in pairs at each side of the wheel, the'blades of each pair of which are disposed upon diametrically opposite sides of the respective hub portion, and flexible connections betweenthe blades of the spaced sides whereby to cause simultaneous movement of the blades of each pair, one toop'erativeposition and the other to feathered positionfsaid flexible connections extending within the said annular chamber and around the said pulleys therein. I

. 2. In a device of the character described, a power generating wheel having spaced apart sides, each of which sides has a hub portion and a rim portion, a plurality of shafts journaled at each side between its hub and rim and defining therewith substantially rectangular spaces, a plurality of substantially triangular feathering blades adapted to fit within said spaces andcarried by said shafts, said blades being arranged 1n palrs at each side of the wheel,

the blades of each pair of which are dis posed upon diametrically opposite sides of the respective hub portion, and flexible coni nections between the blades of the spaced sldes whereby to cause, simultaneous movement of the blades of each pair, one to op-- erative position and the other to feathered posltion, said flexible connections extending between the spaced sides of the wheel. 7

3. In a device of the character described, a power generating wheel having a hub portlon and a rim portion, a plurality of shafts extending between the hub and rim and defining therewith a plurality of substantially rectangular spaces, a plurality of substantially triangular feathering blades adapted each pair whereby to cause their simultaneto fit Within said spaces and carried by said ous movement, one to operative position and shafts, said blades being arranged in pairs, the other to feathered position.

the blades of each pair of which are dis- ISAAC REESE; posed on diametrically opposite sides of the Witnesses:

Wheel hub and at right angles to one an- MYRON G. CLEAR,

other, and connections between the blades of SoLoN G. KnMoNa Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of iatents, Washington, D. G. 

